# Does anyone like Yoko Ono's music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 28, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934 "2006-01-28T00:39:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/1 "2006-01-28T00:39:38Z")
Do her CD’s actually sell? Does she have a record contract? (I don’t have anything against Yoko. I don’t think she had anything to do with the Beatles breaking up.) But I don’t get her music. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/2 "2006-01-28T00:53:07Z")
Only pretentious posers pretend to listen to Ono’s “music.” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/3 "2006-01-28T00:54:59Z")
She makes music? I thought she was just recording the sounds of animals being tortured. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/4 "2006-01-28T01:02:55Z")
She seems to like it. That’s one. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/5 "2006-01-28T01:12:25Z")
A record producer made an album called “Stairways to Heaven” in which many, many artists submitted their versions of Stairway to Heaven for a compilation. In the liner notes, they said that one of the submissions sounded like a whale being tortured by a drum machine. It turned out to be Yoko’s version. ---
**Author:** ![dinahmoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dinahmoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dinahmoe)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/6 "2006-01-28T01:20:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Regardless of individual opinion, Ono has left a lasting legacy; she was an undeniably seminal figure in the history of performance art, and elements of her music prefigured the arty sides of punk and new wave (whether she was a direct influence is still debated, although the B-52’s did admit to drawing from her early records). From [here](http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/ono_yoko/bio.jhtml) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/7 "2006-01-28T01:22:27Z")
I’ve always thought Yoko Ono was a talentless hack as an artist of any kind, and a perfect example of everything that was wrong with the avante-garde art movement of the 60’s and 70’s. She’s basically a hanger-on, a flake who got lucky and wound up with the ‘right’ crowd where her talentless noodlings were seen as being incredibly deep and thoughtful by virtue of the fact that no one could figure out what the hell she was trying to say. And that was before she broke up the Beatles. ---
**Author:** ![Analogue\_Skywalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Analogue\_Skywalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Analogue_Skywalker)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/8 "2006-01-28T01:30:53Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > Do her CD’s actually sell? Does she have a record contract? > > (I don’t have anything against Yoko. I don’t think she had anything to do with the Beatles breaking up.) > > But I don’t get her music. She is one of my favorite artists. Although to enjoy her musical stylings, I feel you have to be able to appreciate atonal rhythms. I once jammed out to whitenoise for 30mins proclaiming it to be the best whitenoisemanipulation track I have ever heard, only to find out the station was off the air and it wasnt a track at all, it was just radio static from an off air station. Some people do like her music, but I’d be willing to bet its not the music they like, its the sounds they are hearing. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/9 "2006-01-28T02:03:23Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Only pretentious posers pretend to listen to Ono’s “music.” Bullshit. “Mind Train” _rawks_. Dub dub! And most of her tracks on _Double Fantasy_ were more urgent, creative, and relevant to the music scene circa 1980 than most of John’s. ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/10 "2006-01-28T02:12:40Z")
In general, no. In specific, there was an album released after John’s murder called “Season of Broken Glass” which had some very good stuff on it. It did fall into some Onos, but mostly it seemed, at the time, good. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/11 "2006-01-28T02:15:56Z")
> [@Analogue Skywalker](#): > > I once jammed out to whitenoise for 30mins proclaiming it to be the best whitenoisemanipulation track I have ever heard, only to find out the station was off the air and it wasnt a track at all, it was just radio static from an off air station. Ok, so stoners like her stuff. Anyone else? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![percussion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@percussion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percussion)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/12 "2006-01-28T05:59:49Z")
> [@Analogue Skywalker](#): > > She is one of my favorite artists. Although to enjoy her musical stylings, I feel you have to be able to appreciate atonal rhythms. I once jammed out to whitenoise for 30mins proclaiming it to be the best whitenoisemanipulation track I have ever heard, only to find out the station was off the air and it wasnt a track at all, it was just radio static from an off air station. Some people do like her music, but I’d be willing to bet its not the music they like, its the sounds they are hearing. Rhythms are not tonal or a tonal. I find her music to be nothing special. As someone who performs a lot (and I mean a lot, its part of a classical percussionists job) of avant garde music iv been exposed to a tonne of similar performers, some, such as Pauline Oliveros, Hans Linderman, Christine Duncan, Jean Martin, Justin Haynes, Stockhausen and Xenakis that I think are amazing while others, albeit with good intentions left me feeling flat, while other audience members left feeling amazed and inspired So I guess its like any other music, some like it, it just depends on what kind of listener you are and how you perceive the music ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/13 "2006-01-28T06:10:41Z")
> [@percussion](#): > > Rhythms are not tonal or a tonal. Thou hast been whooshed, most verily. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/14 "2006-01-28T06:11:38Z")
The definitive statement about Yoko Ono: “A lot of people happen to think her work on _Double Fantasy_ wasn’t … completely disruptive.” – Dave Nelson on _NewsRadio_ ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/15 "2006-01-28T06:19:05Z")
I really love Yoko’s _Plastic Ono Band_ (not the Lennon record, though it was recorded at the same time, with the same backing band). The opener of “Why” and then “Why Not?” is completely and utterly retarded and **awesome** , a sort of bluesy dude-jam with Yoko just warbling and mouth-farting all over it. Amazing, seriously. I agree with the whole “talentless hack” thing, but I just don’t find that incompatible with “great record,” nor do I find the two mutually exclusive (see: Daniel Johnston, the Shaggs, Gary Wilson, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/16 "2006-01-28T06:55:38Z")
Yoko Ono’s “Walking on Thin Ice” is one of my alltime favorite tracks, and it was a huge hit in the NY Club scene in the early eighties. It was also extremely influential, and was covered by Elvis Costello. She’s a brilliant conceptual artist, and doesn’t make music for pop sensibilities. The fact that she’s apparently quite a nasty bitch hasn’t helped her career much either. But then, Picasso was quite an asshole, and James Joyce molested his daughter. But people seem more willing to dismiss a woman artist’s work if they don’t like her personality. With a male artist who’s a jerk, people seem more willing to distinguish the work from the person. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/17 "2006-01-28T08:10:17Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Picasso was quite an asshole Wow! Jonathan Richman was wrong! ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/18 "2006-01-28T08:57:22Z")
> [@VCO3](#): > > I really love Yoko’s _Plastic Ono Band_ (not the Lennon record, though it was recorded at the same time, with the same backing band). The opener of “Why” and then “Why Not?” is completely and utterly retarded and **awesome** , a sort of bluesy dude-jam with Yoko just warbling and mouth-farting all over it. Amazing, seriously. I agree with the whole “talentless hack” thing, but I just don’t find that incompatible with “great record,” nor do I find the two mutually exclusive (see: Daniel Johnston, the Shaggs, Gary Wilson, etc.). Ha. Comparing Yoko to the Shaggs; who should be more insulted? Both I guess: totally, totally different thing. Ditto Johnston. You couldn’t pick three more different “artists” coming from three more different directions. Gary Wilson maybe occasionally wanders over into some Yoko-esque self awareness, but there’s an intentional camp element there that’s absent from Yoko’s often over-serious stuff. I think better comparisons might be Diamanda Galas, Meredith Monk, even Karen Finley. Jim Thirlwell? Later Scott Walker? Jimi Tenor? Hmm. Maybe sometimes. Definitely Flying Lizards, B52s, Lene Lovich, Nina Hagen; even Dreaming-era Kate Bush, Mary Margaret O’Hara. In any case, she’s been wildly influential. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/19 "2006-01-28T12:03:13Z")
> [@Analogue Skywalker](#): > > Although to enjoy her musical stylings, I feel you have to be able to appreciate atonal rhythms. “Atonal” music is thus named because some day in hell the composer will have to atone for it. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934/20 "2006-01-28T12:38:49Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > Does anyone like Yoko Ono’s music? \Not since December 8, 1980\ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-like-yoko-onos-music/341934.md?page=2)